U.S. Officials in the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a are destroying documents and weapons today as they work to leave the embassy in Yemen, a task they believe will be complete by Wednesday.

The U.S. Embassy there has been closed down all month following the January 20th storming and take-over of the Yemeni leader’s palace. Within days of the palace take-over, the president, Abed Rabbo Mansour and his cabinet resigned their positions, leaving the Shiite Houthi rebels in control of the country.

With the closure and evacuation of the embassy, the U.S. is asking the Turkish and Algerian governments to look after U.S. interests in the country.

The closure and emptying of the embassy is being overseen by U.S. Ambassador Matthew Tueller, who is expected to fly out of the country on Wednesday. Although there has been a U.S. Embassy in Yemen since 1990, Tueller has only been in his official capacity in that country since May of last year.

  embassy, rebels, tueller, u.s., yemen